Last Thursday evening I rode into State College, Pennsylvania. The sky was clear with a few wispy clouds made pink by the lowering sun and the temperature was hovering near 50F. Perfect conditions for riding after a miserable winter. Here’s the scene at the motorcycle parking spaces across from Schlow Library — three Vespa scooters. So far this year the motorcycle riders are scarce to non-existent. As I was riding home I knew there had to be a reason. Maybe a helpful motorcycle rider can indicate the right choice.
10. Earth Day is approaching and I want to do my part for fuel conservation by staying off the road.
9. My Roadcrafter suit is at the dry cleaners.
8. Didn’t want to risk a breakdown and miss The Office because my Tivo is on the fritz.
7. I just hate waving to all those scooters on the road.
6. Fifty degrees is too cold to dress like a pirate.
5. The battery is dead on my GPS.
4. My wife says I’m not allowed to go out.
3. My husband whines like a little baby whenever I go for a ride in the evening.
2. I thought only scooters were allowed on the road until June 1.
1. Fifty degrees??? Are you nuts???
Maybe there are other reasons. But I know as soon as the temperature hits 70F motorcycles appear like flies.
And just so you don’t think all scooter riders are tough or something. I saw this Honda Ruckus at work yesterday with a rain coat. Isn’t it just wrong to cover your machine when it’s not at home? I think the BMW MOA rescinds membership rights if someone does that with a BMW.
Charlie6 says
Steve
apparently, the motorcycle owners (can’t really call them riders can we?)in your neck of the woods are not just dilettantes, they’re just poseurs…
dom
Redleg’s Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
SonjaM says
I am a bad person. I totally forgot about Earth Day and went out for a recreational ride.
BTW what is a motorcycle cover? Mine doesn’t have one, want one or get one.
My Vespa’s have a seat cover though…
Steve Williams says
Charlie6: (Dom) Maybe they just don’t like being cold. Like I don’t like being hot. When the temp hits the 90s I wimp out and take the air conditioned truck a lot of times….
Steve Williams says
SonjaM: Every day is Earth Day when your transportation is a Vespa. And it’s fun to boot.
I have a seat cover for my Vespa but never use it.
You must be one of those serious BMW riders who takes greater and greater pride as your motorcycle gets dirtier and dirtier.
Don’t ever get a Harley.
BeemerGirl says
I am surprised there aren’t more motorcycles about. But that just means more fun for the scoots. 🙂
So what does it say about me when I cover my bike when it is parked at work, but I rarely wash the bike? 😉
Steve Williams says
BeemerGirl: Why exactly do you cover your bike at work? I could see doing that if I worked at a blast furnace, a limestone mine, or a refinery.
If that’s the case I guess it means you’re smart.
SpannerX says
Must be different in my neck of the woods, went for a 130 Km ride with a local group and saw tons of bikes out, Harleys, Metric cruisers, a few Victory bikes, crotch rockets, and a group of ADV riders (One of the bikes even had a sticker. I really have to get a few of those) that were eating at the same pub that we were. Hell, the Harley dudes across at the coffee shop were saying “What does it say about us if we are at the coffee shop and the scooter club is going to the pub?” On top of that, I’d say 90% of the riders waved back, and the ones that didn’t I’ll give the benefit of the doubt due to road conditions and the curves. It was between 5° and 10°C.
Great blog, by the way, love the photos, I’ve been lurking from pretty much the beginning.
Joe Wall says
In my neck of the woods (halfway between Baltimore and DC), it’s solidly cruiserville, with spluttering, overchromed leaden thundermobiles chugging along just under the speed limit until I zip away from them at a green light and they have something to prove.
I grin like a fool and wave like a happy little girl whenever I see another person on a scooter, even on a Chinese 50cc hummer, who’s wearing a helmet and some gear (as opposed to the t-shirt and flip-flops liquorsikkle cotillion). There’s a guy with an airhead who passes by my house twice a day who’s an eleven month rider, with a banged-up bike and big square aluminum panniers plastered with stickers, but I don’t see a lot of commuters.
On the highways around here, it’s all sportbikes, and as you get up towards Baltimore, it’s increasingly just twelve o’clock boyz, passing you by in full screaming wheelie mode. Sigh.
This is, of course, why I try to set a good example for the other way to get around on two wheels as much as I can, but I suspect no one notices. Since returning to the PX fold with my Stella, I haven’t seen a single metal-bodied shifty scoot in my town, let alone a modern Vespa. I should be out there more myself, but I take a train to work, walk to the store, and bike to the local Amish market, so it seems silly to get kitted up for those short trips.
Steve Williams says
SpannerX: Glad you decided to transition from lurker to commenter. People share interesting insights and information.
My experience with other riders waving is much like yours– 90 % or more return the gesture and in winter it’s closer to 100%.
Read on your blog that you are working on Sable Island. How’s that part of the country?
chessie says
Strange days ahead. Steve, I rarely see and scooters around here. Guess things will change with the cost of fuel going crazy. The riders around here are on the wimpy side too. It’s too cold to ride if the temps fall under 55 degrees and the sun isn’t out. Cloud cover? Forget it!
My poor lil girl has never known a cover. She deals with the snow, the hail and all nature wants to throw at her. She’s not fuel efficient like your wonderful Vespa (50 MPG is all my girl gets) but she’s all I have and I love her. No 4 wheelin’ for this gal. Not unless someone lends me some wheels for a project or something!
Keep ridin’ Steve! Your posts are the quality kind that bring smiles and loads of happiness to others!
SpannerX says
Ooh, I really have to update that blog, I don’t venture there too often, as you can probably tell. 🙂
Lately I’ve been everywhere but Sable Island, which no one really works on, just the horses, the seals, and one woman that looks after the place are there. I used to work supply boats, but now I’m pretty much going world wide on construction v/ls and pipe laying barges.
There can be douches around here, one of the guys that I was riding with yesterday (Big Ruckus) told a story about how he parked his bike next to some butt jewelery and the owner of the bike actually came out of a bar and moved his bike when he saw what was parked next to it. So there you go.
Orin says
Yesterday was the first sunny day with a temperature above 60°F in Western Washington in 2011. I would say every operational motorcycle and scooter in this part of the state was on the road yesterday. As was I, leading a group down to Lynnwood for a big MC/scooter dealer’s “season opener” event.
It’s cloudy and raining now. : (
__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool
Steve Williams says
Joe Wall: There certainly are plenty of motorcycles around here — far more than scooters. A lot of times when I see the scooters it’s late in the day, early evening, and the people riding are those who are transportation riders rather than recreational ones. I suppose that would explain part of it.
I can’t imagine riding between DC and Baltimore. All my experience has been on the Beltways and even in a car it’s no fun. I’ve seen sportbikes racing through traffic but it’s not for me.
I don’t consciously try to set a two wheel example but I suppose people do see me at times and wonder…
I ride more for the peace of mind and simple pleasures that come with it. Getting 65 to 70 mpg is a nice side benefit though!
Steve Williams says
chessie: Riders have a wide range of opinions on when you can or can’t ride. I think I might consider writing something about that — delve into the rider psyche and see what’s there.
Thanks for the kind words about the post.
Steve Williams says
SpannerX: Keeping a blog up is work even if you enjoy it. I am surprised that I’m still at it. Must be something I haven’t quite said yet…
Love the story about the Big Ruckus. On more than one occasion I have parked next to a big cruiser just to take a picture. So far I haven’t offended anyone enough to have them move their bike though.
Steve Williams says
Orin: We are right at the cusp of riding weather for the vast majority of riders. Have the rain depart and the temperature increase a few more degrees and the valley will rumble from the sound of power!
Joe Wall says
It’s pretty congested in the Baltimore-DC corridor, but for someone riding at a sub 250cc scooter pace (i.e. me on a 150cc 2-stroke, having not yet shed that thirty pounds of flab I put on in the chaos of changing careers), there’s a lot of adventures to be had. You just have to sort of get your eyes tuned into that “what was that thing I saw in a flicker through the trees?” frequency, and before long, you’re trundling up the overgrown drive of an abandoned mental hospital, tracing the back roads of the enormous New Deal-era agricultural research center, or duck-paddling your way over a little red clay hump down by the old gravel pit to find a recently-tended apiary in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
That’s part of what I most love about the fact that my scoot can’t just pick up and fly–it really cultivates awareness. Plus, it helps that there’s a little escape hatch out to the west, where I can hop on the swooping, curling farm route, MD 144, and sneak out of the morass to Frederick and then to points further out, where the development’s creeping in, but at a leisurely pace. I’ve got a cabin not far from Berkeley Springs, though it’s 121 miles from home, so it’s not a regular ride just yet.
irondad says
Re: covering the bike at work.
When I had a different job and actually had to leave the bike parked outside all day I often covered it in the summer. Not the full cover, but one of those covers that protected the top of the bike.
Unlike some Bards from Penn State, I ride no matter the temp. Imagine leaving a bike outside under the boiling sun all day. Plays havoc with seat covers and the plastic on the bike. Especially with a bike like the ST where the fairing pockets are sort of a Rubbermaid material.
Just food for thought from a Road Warrior.
Charlie6 says
Ditto on what Irondad said re hot summer days and the sun beating down on the motorcycle’s leather seats and such.
I carry small stretch covers that cover the seat on my motorcycles to protect against the sun here in Colorado….we’re one mile closer to the sun you know! : )
The ural gets a cover too, to keep freezing rain from collecting on the moving parts and freezing them solid….
dom
Redleg’s Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Otter says
There’s a certain solidarity amongst bikers who suffer together, especially in rain and cold. I would wave to the other riders braving the conditions more, but I don’t want to take my hands off the heated grips…
V Twin Motorcycle Tires says
Actually, number 3 applies for me. My husband says i cannot go for rides in the evening. He says that i wave a lot of people and it being an evening ride, you never know what could happen. I become sullen but, i have to obey. No word. No say.